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October 1737 (2)
= Le Mercure Gallant - October 1737 = Weather this month *Storms across East Europe. Events Of Importte Pertaining To Recent Matters Burgos *Highwaymen have been at work on roads west of Burgos, causing much grief to the local aristocracy. Philippsburg & Liege *Graf von Lochmann, the prince of the Palatine, is urgently calling for a Prussian army of relief to be sent to save his court from ‘the Frence Menace’. However, the French 2nd Army lifted its siege of Philippsburg before it really began, and marched off to the north, heading for Liege. A messenger rode ahead and entered that city to find out if French allied troops will be welcomed. General Maximilian von Browne was quick to say they would, providing that the French officers give their word of honour not to act against Liege-Cologne. Taipei *Lord Yamato has deployed Samurai and Ashigaru of his clan to enforce Japanese rule over the Taipei district of the island of Formosa. Poona *The venerable Prince Sivaji of the Maharatas has died while partaking of some opium. He was also with a French man called Claude Rein at the time who was immediately assumed to have assassinated the old prince. Jai Man Hara, Zamindar of the Shifting Rock of Poona had Msr. Rein dragged out and executed by soldiers of the 10th Indian- Poona Regiment (who themselves are deserters from the Spanish army in India). Cayuta, Iroqouis Lands *Great Chief Kirok of the Hohinonhsioni, at the village of Cayuta west of Fort St. Joseph has agreed to an alliance with Great Britain and to trade with them. He then turned to Baron de Mallats and declined the proposed alliance with France on the grounds that it wasn’t possible since it might mean they have to raid English settlements in the future, something they cannot do now without breaking their word to the Great Chief of Great Britain! He also declined to sell Fort St. Joseph back to France, stating that the land is more important than the money, and asked that ‘our friends the brave men of La Reine and the backwoodsmen depart as soon as possible’. Berne *The Captain-General of the Swiss Cantons has explained to le Comte Ushant that the Cantons do not permit the taking of recruits in its Confederal territories directly, but has some mercenaries for hire: ten infantry battalions are available in Berne for a one-off fee of £200,000 for the brigade. Paderborn *Under the eyes of Kaiser Frederick I the dozen battalions of the Potsdam Inspection made strenuous efforts to wrestle the covered way of Paderborn off the sepoys of the Imperial Indian Regiment in the service of Munster. After ten days hard fighting the Prussians succeeded, and it took two more days to secure a crossing over the midwork defences’ ditch in the teeth of cannon fire. By the 22nd these works had been battered into submission by the Kaiser’s artillery and occupied by his troops. By the end of the month the main ditch had been sapped across to two bastions, and so the siege continues... Calais *At Calais and other French ports Letters of Marque are now available permitting privateers to prey on Prussian merchant shipping in the name of the King of France. However, Prussian merchant ships bound for France, Spain, or Holland are not to be tampered with under the conditions of these Letters. Bonn *Bad storms lashed the land around Bonn, hampering the progress of the siege and frankly making the lives of the soldiers of the Army of the Rhein a misery! Swiss mercenaries in the pay of Liege-Cologne stood ready to contest the breach in the north side of the main wall, which General von Ziethen decided he would try and take with the officers and men of the crack 3rd Garde Brigade. The fighting was prolonged, partly on account of the bad weather, but by 11th October it was clear the guards had failed in their attempt. The weather again worsened, and no fresh attempts were made to take the breach this month. General von Ziethen has offered the garrison the honours of war... Valencia *Bullfighter Francisco Romero is reported to have made a full recovery after being gored by a bull and has now returned to touring Spain. London *George Blake MP has tabled this question in Parliament: “Does the government believe that the state of Hanover should centralise its treasury with the Imperial Treasury?” A reply to his previous question was going to be put forward when a great scandal arose. The man posing as leader of the Tories has ‘done a runner’, as they say in London parlance, after it was discovered that he is actually an impostor, a planted lookalike resembling the real Sir George Melville and so no doubt placed there to do no good whatsoever! The family of Sir George, lately returned from a lengthy sojourn in the American colonies, ‘blew the gaff’ having declared that the real Sir George, who had once served as Lord Treasurer of England, had been murdered in October 1731 upon his return from a meeting in Berlin! *King George I of England has attended a joint session of Parliament and called for the British people ‘to rise up in support of our Prussian friends, who came to our aid in our hour of need, and declare war as required by the Treaty of Potsdam-Southampton.’ “The French have made a mistake and may well correct the grievous error, but the conditions of the treaty require that a state of war exist between the British people and the French,” His Majesty said. With no choice in relation to their treaty obligations, and while suspecting French perfidy over the strange case of Sir George Melville, Parliament voted for war against France. So it is that from this moment thence the Kingdom of England is now at war with that of France. Following on from this His Majesty King George I formally declared war on the Kingdom of France in recognition of the state of war existing between his ally, Prussia, and the Kingdom of France: “His Majesty’s Government regrets that this has been the course that has been taken by the French, but alas, the die has been cast and our current treaty obligations require that we support the Kaiser and the Prussian people. I remind the British people that it was the Prussians who came to the aid of our people when we were in our hour of need. Lastly, but most importantly, I hope that God will intervene and bring this matter to a close before blood can be shed on either side of the conflict and that the powers of Europe will not attempt to interfere with the inner workings of other states.” Stockholm *Queen Ulrica Eleanor of Sweden has taken up the reins of power by taking direct charge of her royal government. {Sweden has a new player} Kingston *Four battalions of England’s 2nd Regiment of Royal Marines have been put ashore at Kingston, disembarking off East Indiamen in the harbour which had served as troop transports. Sidon *Grand Admiral Talaat Pasha’s Ottoman Rumelian fleet off Sidon has once again bombarded the port, turning what remains of the place to ruins and killing a number of Syrian rebel Janissaries as well as some Rumelians they are holding prisoner. Following this an attempt was made to land marines. This was opposed by some companies of Janissaries in the rubble, who with their musket fire managed to prevent the landing boats making shore Rome *Over dinner Cardinal Marcel Severac asked visiting German clergy whether since there are Muslims under Prussian command, are there not mosques in Germany? By way of reply his guests were all unanimous in believing there are none, which pleased His Eminence no end. Esseg *A band of irregular Ottoman infantry had the shock of their lives when, while they were out in the fields being put through their paces, the 2nd Brigade of the Hungarian Army, consisting of four battalions, promptly marched into Esseg where the Rumelians were based! Cancelling their drill, the commander of these irregulars hurried his men within the fortified town... Edo *The Fudasashi Exchange has announced that the contribution of 5% of rice from the working farmers on Shogun’s estates will only be enforced should there fail to be a bumper harvest across all of Japan. If the contribution is enforced the exchange will evaluate the actual amount and declare a competitive price on its value. While the Shogun’s priority remains to the Emperor and nation he is mindful that individual families should not be disadvantaged unnecessarily. Versailles *King Charles of France, on his return from Paris, has hosted a banquet for Duke Charles of Lorraine, courtiers and ambassadors to the French court. His Most Christian Majesty gave this speech: “France has sought peace with honour for all. But Prussia appears to have been trying to string us along for months on end by promises of peace only to expect us to stand by while Strassburg and Bonn fall to Prussian aggression. To Prussia we ask why do you start this war, why break the Imperial treaty and why employ infidels to kill Christians? Prussia knows our terms and they are reasonable, so it remains a mystery why Prussia declared war now. We can only assume she expected France to give in to every single demand, and is not open to a diplomatic compromise. To the rest of the world we say are you safer if Prussia dominates Europe?” “France wishes nothing for herself but her safety and her honour. Prussia threatens the peace of Europe, the princes of the Empire, threatens Lorraine and invades Strassburg and Bonn. Prussia has started an unnecessary war and France, glorious France, will finish it!” As one the nobility of France roared back, “Long live the King!” Late in the evening the King is known to have held a private meeting with his guest the Duke, having also in attendance Louis Henri de Bourbon, Duke of Bourbon, Prince of Condé. *Bartolomeo Cristofori of Genoa and King Charles of France have signed a treaty of mutual defence. Terms include the payment of 2,000,000 Livres a year to Genoa by France at these times: October 1737 (paid), October 1738, October 1739, October 1740, and October 1741. On the subject of defence agreements, the King then informed Vladimir Gyulai that France had already pledged to stand by Hungary if she is invaded and promises again to stand by that pledge. Charles followed this by calling forward the Spanish envoy Antonio de Acuna, Bishop of Zamora. He led him to side room where they conversed in private. *Trade Minister Maurice Maurass has announced that the French colonies are now open to trade for the merchants of Spain, the United Provinces, Genoa, and the Papal States (up until now the colonies have been closed to all except French traders). *King Charles summoned the Prussian ambassador Count von Wilmamowitz, and told him this: “Sir, this war is an error. France and Prussia did not need to fight. Your master has been over-hasty in a declaration of war. France wishes nothing for herself but will not allow Prussia to annex the Rhine forts or make war on her princely brothers the friends of France. Tell your master that!” Bowing low in abeyance, Wilmamowitz firstly expressed his deep personal regret ‘that it has come to this’ and replied that he would do as the King bids. Brussels *Jean-Balthazar d'Adhémar has expressed the warm felicitations of the King of France to the government of Flanders, but warned that if they allow themselves to be used as a base for English or Dutch attacks against France this will be seen as a declaration of war by them on France. People being Much Admired by the Best in Société *Russia *France *Moghul India *Prussia *Hungary *Kwantung China *Blackbeard *Ottoman Rumelia *England *Spain *Sweden *United Provinces Shipping Lists: Being a Reporte on Knowne Shipping Movements *The Nordflotte under Generaladmiral Bostell of Prussia has sailed into Gibraltar. *Under sail are 27 ship of the line, 23 frigates, 17 luggers and eight transports, as well as four French merchant ships taken as prizes. *Six English merchantmen have gone missing while sailing in the English Channel, and five more in the Levant. *Four Japanese merchant junks have been lost at sea in the Bashi Channel. *Admiral von Spree's Prussian fleet has set sail from Hamburg, and later arrived in Portsmouth. *Five Prussian merchant ships are reported to be missing in the North Sea. Lloyds Lists: Being a Reporte on Knowne Shipping Losses from Causes Unknowne or Knowne *None. Ambassadorial Appointments *Sent by Savoy to France, Candido Vecchi. Trade Missions Opened *By Hungary in Trieste. *By Spain in Turin and Munich. Automatically parsed by LGDRParser v1.0 Category:Game 2